Google blames MS patent wars on WP failure

In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, lawyer Tim Porter spoke about the Google Microsoft feud over royalties. Microsoft is currently insisting upon receiving royalties for its technology patents from Android phone makers.

Since Microsoft has been a pioneer in its hay days, it owns a number of patents used by many smartphone manufacturers in the market. In fact, the software giant earns hundreds of millions of Dollars every year by licensing its products to companies that manufacture Android devices. Of course, Microsoft views the deals as being absolutely fair.

Google and its counsel think differently. Porter states, “When their (Microsoft) products stop succeeding in the market place, when they get marginalised, they use the large patent portfolio they’ve built up to get revenue from the success of other companies’ products.”  According to him, a patent war is hardly doing anything except eating up resources and time, hampering the development and growth of new and innovative technologies.

The San Francisco Chronicle quotes the results of a Nielsen study that places Android as the leader of the smartphone OS market with a 43% market share. Apple’s iPhone comes in second with its 28% share and RIM’s BlackBerry fares third with its 18% market share.

Google’s statements on their part could well be a PR strategy, considering that along with Microsoft, Apple and Oracle have been waging a war with it over patent and royalty issues for some time now. As for Microsoft, the best defence is always offence. Maybe the software giant needs to continue doing what it’s best at. Further innovation is what will get Microsoft its lost glory back, and make it win all patency wars.